Theory of Psychology: The Laws of Psyche (complete text)

PART III

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOCIAL LIFE

. Organization of labor and of the social activities for their adaptation
to the absolute necessities and tendencies of man.

. The scientific socialism as previous objective condition for changes
in the organization of labor and of the social activities

Happiness in objective or absolute sense, refers to the positive outcome of the balance of the experience pleasure-displeasure, like average of a certain period of time (days, weeks, months or years). Objectively, this has to be attained by the apparatus of the general integration if it intends to be successful in its grand purpose. Beyond the different strategies or types of virtual values, if things do not conclude in that concrete psychic relationship, it means having failed.

As we remember, the pleasure and displeasure neurons would have the last word on that issue according to the distribution of their activity (refer to chapter 5). Those two groups of neurons, according to what we had deduced, would always have approximately the same average quantity of global activity. The psychic effect would only vary according to the distribution: duration-intensity of the constant amount of neuronal working. The most favorable psychic product would consist on the frequent and discontinuous operation of the pleasure neurons in the maximum intensity and minimum duration and in the continuous operation of the displeasure neurons in the maximum duration and lightest intensity. All variation of that relationship would imply to be far from happiness and near from objective unhappiness.

The different possible relations of the neuronal activity always depend on what happens in the subject's outer life. That “ideal” relation of the distribution of the neuronal work, would only happen with the enthusiasm state. This state would not be more than the subjective facade of that way of the neuronal operation. Enthusiasm as psychic state, would result in the continuous and minimum intensity activity of the displeasure neurons (desire, expectation, uncertainty, suspense, concentration tension) and the parallel appearance of reiterated irruptions of intense activity of the pleasure neurons (reactions of happiness, joy and “emotion”).

As we know, pleasure can not be continuous; but enthusiasm can. It is a state conceived in the extension of time including experiences pleasant as well as unpleasant and where the own concept entails the reference to the favorable average pleasure that that state involves.

Although the advantage of living enthusiastically is something obvious, the most important thing would be missing now. That is the way the life of society should be organized in order to work. One can not decide “spontaneously” to start living enthusiastically. It would be silly to suppose such a thing. That state depends on the objective conditions of life and of the possibilities offered by them in this regard. Otherwise, everybody would have been living enthusiastically and full of happiness for long.

2. General conditions for the healthy psychic operation

The most general and basic conditions would be the full operation of the global system of natural and essential psychological tendencies, the appropriate and harmonious operation of all the absolute tendencies. That implies the usual satisfaction of impulses; the hearty activity of bipulsions; the existence of pleasant global facts in which macropulsion is interested in and the continuous operation of the apparatuses guided towards the achievement of ideals. When all that works, a momentous vital nature and a basic enthusiasm for life will take place. The reason of this statement would lie in the fact that the most appropriate distribution in the operation of the neurons, would have been structured to keep up that normal way of the psychic operation. And since the full operation of the total of the necessary tendencies was the useful thing for the survival of the tribe, all deviation or disruption of that way of the psychic operation, should be followed by a worsening of the quality of psychic life, it should be accompanied by the decrease or loss of the basic enthusiasm for life.

When we discussed about neurons, we saw the possibility that the global average volume of the work of the pleasure and displeasure neurons could differ a little; that is to say that the maximum objective happiness could not only depend on distribution: duration-intensity of the same quantity of neuronal activity but it would be possible a margin of variation of that amount. In case that this margin exists, the maximum global operation of the pleasure neurons and the minimum in those of displeasure ones would only be achieved under the condition of the harmonious operation of the whole system of essential psychological tendencies, in the frame of maximum enthusiasm.

It has been noticed, while discussing the different levels of the psyche, we reached the same conclusions on the two general social conditions that may favor the psychic operation in each case: 1- security and equality in the material conditions of life. 2-appropriate organization of labor and of the social activities.

1- The first condition, that supposes equality in the distribution of material goods and the parallelism of the economic interests in all the members of society, is the foundation constructing the security and easiness for the satisfaction of the most vital necessities in all the individuals. At the same time, that offers the most basic sphere for the fraternity of social relationships that lead to the hard development and operation of the moral-spiritual tendencies. Nothing of this may happen when the economic system forces the insensitive and shabby fight between individuals or groups for the appropriation of material goods. The healthy and natural competition was always limited to the moral field, where the winner receives the deserved recognition. Competition around economic goods is alien to human nature. In the primary social organism, everything related to the distribution of the material goods was in charge of the spiritual functions, of justice, kindness, altruism, social responsibility, respect, friendship; while what referred to competition was always independent from the implied equal material distribution. All competition or “sporty spirit”, emulation, only corresponded to the moral field. No primitive tribe could survive otherwise.

For that reason, it has not to do with hindering the competition itself, as a value misunderstood by the ideology of the social forest. On the contrary, if we consider the hale and hearty competition occurred in the moral field, we find that a society providing the full, material, equitable security for all its members, offers the most favorable objective conditions so that the labor atmosphere and of the social activities become like that of a giant Olympic village, where different competitions may be carried out in each activity in order to attain the best performance, with a truly sporty character and in the natural moral field.

2- Once equality and material security and the parallelism of the economic interests in all the members of society have been reached, the transformation of the type of the social activities and labor would be missing. The level of enthusiasm of participants depends on the proper organization of activities. The possibility of satisfaction of the impulses naturally encouraged in the frame of the activity, also depends on that organization. The suitable operation of bipulsions also depends on it, of those moving in the frame of the activity, as well as of the bipulsions of human relationships that surround the development of group activities. The interest of macropulsion in activities also depends on their organization. As the participation in the activity is something pleasant, this is turned into a pleasant global fact in its entirety. Lastly, the nature itself of the activity when suitable, favors the setting of full-size goals and ideals in relation to it.

If we review the stated concepts, we find that sport is the social activity that allows all that together and in the best way. This is what makes one say: “healthy mind in healthy body”. However the healthy mind is not determined by the sole corporal health. What makes mind healthier, is the integrated unfolding of the different psychological functions that occasionally sport favors. But that “monopoly” of sport, of such essential psychological functions, does not mean that they are of its exclusive property but the valuable motivational elements present in sport may be rescued and applied in all the social activities, especially in labor. As the sporty spirit or emulation, competition spirit, agonistic, moral fight did not appear in the structure of the human psyche “to allow” the existence of the current sports but because they favored the labor productivity of the tribe, the shift of the essential elements of sport to the labor activity and the rest of activities, would not be more than the recovery of the natural psychological operation in the development of that one.

The transformation of labor and of the social activities, acquiring a character of sports game or ruled moral competition, would have two positive consequences: 1- eagerness for the activity. 2 - enhancement of the material and cultural productivity.

Let’s see a specific example. Let’s suppose that in a factory a fight takes place among the different sectors for the best production of the day, as a kind of a sport game. As one will be able to notice, it is not necessary a great modification in the infrastructure of the factory and either in the concrete nature of work. The change is essentially produced in the “unseen” elements of the activity. The rules of the game are only added together with the objective methods as the approach of victory and the determination of prizes for winners.

The workers of a factory would be seen in that case, exactly as they are seen nowadays; only that while they are working, they would do it thinking of winning the game-work. The state of spirit may vary from one point to another, although the position of the body and the form of the movements are the same. When a subject is fully enthusiastic for an activity in which another feels a continuous displeasure, the difference is only due to the different psychological contents that go along with the same material act. For that reason, the same activity may become from dull and hateful to be source of enthusiasm (without excluding the convenience of transforming the conditions and the own nature of many jobs).

Following with the factory example, let’s suppose that besides the dispute for the victory in the day, a ruled competition among the same sectors is being developed at the same time, for the best global production in the month and where there will be a larger prize for the winning section.

That first fight for the victory in the day would have features of the game. Instead, winning the monthly competition as mediate objective, is closer to what we understand as ideal. Another element that may be an important target is the production record of one section, in the day as well as in the month, what would also have a special prize.

The prizes would be material at first. But as together with the material prize, the moral prize is always added, allowing to start diminishing the material prize as long as the moral proportion of the prize increases, until the moral motivation would acquire a total autonomy as time passes by, just like sport has (the “healthy” or natural sport, and not the one that is object of business). That moral autonomy of the motivation would also be helped by that phenomenon by means of which each sector of the social activity develops an own system of appreciations; that is to say, the performance capacity and other individual and group virtues of those sharing the same sphere of activity are always appreciated. It is natural to believe that the most important activity is that one carried out by the subject. The most admired people belong, in general, to the sphere of the social activity where the individual's interest is situated. But it is obvious that this is relative to appreciations. Nevertheless, it is something positive to feel that the activity that one undertakes is important. This phenomenon was useful in the tribe, because it encouraged the maximum interest in the good performance in any activity to be eventually carried out.

It is important not to analyze this example from the ideology and the current ruling interests in the reality of capitalism. The existing considerations are very humiliating regarding the concrete productive labor of workers. Because if there is a social activity which is really the most important one for society, is labor itself, the one crafting all goods and wealth: productive labor.

On the other hand, the application of certain attempts of labor competition that we know, do not comprise the purpose of “favoring workers”, but they rather constitute the imposition of ghastly games aimed at boosting exploitation and earnings and they deepen the anguish of those who only look forward to subsistence. Therefore, in order to make some sense, we always have to consider the example from the new society, from the essential equality among all men, from the previous existence of the first and more basic of the general conditions of society, above defined that was the parallelism of the economic interests and the fair distribution of the labor products. This statement necessarily involves the scientific socialism, the real prevalence of the interests and the will of workers and where there is no room for any class of “friends of other people's work”. Under such conditions, the own workers would ultimately decide what is useful to do or not regarding the working conditions, their interests and those of the whole society (in the following chapter we will discuss about everything related to this important condition of the social life).

All the premises exist for the development of the maximum appreciation for that work and its new feature. As well as victory in the sphere of each sport is something so valued in spite of happening everything in the “air”, that is to say without leaving any concrete product, the victory that also has a valuable social product, may be more valued.

Following with the example, let’s suppose now that the whole factory is participating at the same time, in a productive competition against the rest of similar factories of the region. This fight is solved every three months for example. The principle for victory again is the best global production of the winning factory in those three months, with the corresponding prizes. Finally, a yearly competition among the different regions would be developed at the same time.

Let’s go back to the workers of the section of the factory. They are in their habitual work stations. But now we find that the same activity that they carry out at certain moment, is simultaneously useful for several purposes. The same act of operating a machine efficiently for example, is good to contribute with the section to which the worker belongs, aimed at the victory of the group in the fight for the day production. It is also useful for the victory of the section in the monthly dispute. Then, it is useful to contribute with the factory for its victory against its similar ones. At the same time, the same act of operating the machine correctly is something useful for the victory of the region. The interest in the best personal performance is added to it, which may be determined objectively according to the activity. Also, the interest in overwhelming some production record, either individual or of the group. And lastly, the interest in working efficiently in something that has the highest social importance and whose product is equally overturned for the benefit of the whole society. All that would encourage the operation of the machine in the best way in a frame of enthusiasm for the activity.

3. Applications in the diverse activities

This system may be applied to all social activities. It is only necessary that the natural emulation that takes place in all activities is expressed and regulated, that is to say, to sort clearly the conditions and rules of game to route that universal emulation in the most advantageous and healthy way. The same thing necessarily appears in the diverse social activities but in the feeblest way whereas the appropriate conditions for its natural expression do not exist. In such sense, sport would only be excepted, where the moral fight is expressed and regulated by definition.

As example of another activity where all the above mentioned may be applied, we can mention the scientific activity. Besides each scientist's independent research and concrete problems may be submitted to each investigation center, with a date of submission of works or hypothesis in this regard. In such case, appropriate methods of evaluation picking out the winning works should be created, although none has solved the scientific problem in question definitively (better hypothesis, etc.), that is, the winning investigation center would necessarily be named as well as the individual rewards. At this stage, that “circle of circles” of combined and arranged competitions according to the different levels may also work, in the whole society. Partial and final results should be frequently submitted as they are those keeping up the fullness of motivation and enthusiasm. This would help the best performance or scientific production in this case and at the same time it would play a role to avoid the situation by means of which a researcher has to wait for long to know the destiny of his ideas. It is as if a player had to wait for several years to know whether the ball that he kicked towards the goalkeeper was in it.

Another activity where the system is applicable is education in general. For example, several groups may be distributed in the classroom competing for the average of qualifications among the members of each group. Thus, each subject would develop a commitment with his group, so that each will not be the responsible for the low group average. Also in that way, each one would be concerned in teaching what he knows to his partners. At the same time, the interest in the recognition towards the best individual qualification would be kept. In fact, only this way there would be a true recognition by the favored partners of the group as well as by all, as it is a clear dispute where the concrete victory is what is at stake. On the other hand, periodic contents may be added, where the different groups undertake exhibitions or conferences in team on the diverse contents of the subjects, obtaining special scores or qualifications for winners, as well as for the second and third positions, etc., which would be averaged with the general scores. Simultaneously, the whole classroom would be getting ready for the competition against other similar courses, for the average in qualifications of massive examinations. Here, the winning course would be the one attaining the best general average, arisen out from the qualifications of impartial judges (professors' meeting or other objective methods). At the same time, the whole educational establishment would participate in major competitions where the “honor of the school” would be put at stake.

On the other hand, the ruling authorities would not be unacquainted of the general enthusiasm. The “emulative material” really exists. In ruling positions, each director or head of any institution, section, area, etc., always try to demonstrate a good performance. But now the proof of the level of his ruling or leading capacity would be demonstrated in the victory of the area under his charge. Directors would enjoy the victory of their group or sector as an authentic success, that is to say, as it happens in the case of coachers of a winning sports team as well as with the leaders of a sports club. In the case of these leaders, they not only enjoy the victories of their own teams as they are identified with them and with the club, but such victories reassert the values of the leading capacity. Therefore, in the luck of the own section, factory, school, scientific research center, the own leading capacity and the group of qualities that are implied would be at stake, what would be expressed in the evidence of results.

This situation would also make possible that the person undertaking leading functions is not a tough authority in relation to his trainees, with interests and hopes different or unconnected from these ones, but as there are clear joint goals he would become a true partner of tasks, sharing fully the hopes of the whole group. That would hearten the relationships among subjects as well as the best group operation. The leaders would fulfill then, the true function of leaders, being the natural form of leadership recovered which can not be imagined if there are not relationships of companionship and common interest between the eventual leader and the rest of the group.

The artistic activity, on the other hand, also offers the proper conditions for the application of this system. The current music, dance, painting, poetry contents, etc. that have a true character of moral fight among participants because of the aesthetic quality of the work, are a proof of the possibilities offered by art like an activity.

This situation would not mean what it appears to be, ”degradation” regarding the characteristic motivations of art. It would only be the creation of a new source of possibilities, where many artists would see their opportunities diversified to show their skillfulness and abilities, no matter the fact that this was opposed or excluding in relation to the rest of motivations which are present in the artistic activity.

Regarding jobs or activities where the application of that feature of the activity appears to be more difficult, it would always be applicable. If there are no objective approaches or bounds that determine the victory, there is always a possibility of capable judges defining the results. Even in many sports there are not objective methods setting the result, but everything is solved with the word of judges rendering their indisputable resolution. The clear and frequent presentation to know who was the winner, is the only necessary thing. When this does not happen, emulation keeps up in what is underlying, disturbing the relationships among partners of job or among colleagues, etc. On the contrary, if there are expressed games whose results are clearly submitted in the environment, everything would be reversed.

There would be a group not alien to the system: old people. When having a big experience in the environment of the activity undertaken during years, there is nobody better than these moral authorities of society to fulfill the amusing and valuable task of judges (no matter the possibility to participate in diverse activities).

Besides working the fight character or moral competition in the different social activities, it is not necessary to emphasize the importance of sports. In this issue, varied sports competitions may be organized as well as games of any type among the same groups, regions, etc. that are faced by the performance of the productive or cultural activities. Matching results would be obtained from those games, which could be averaged with the results obtained in labor or cultural activities or they may be rather disconnected as an alternative possibility of victory.

4. Advantages of the system from the psychological point of view

The precise form of the organization of activities is something slipping out of all possibility of description. There would be infinity of technical details that would be necessary to consider in each case. But now, we have to be interested in what is essential, that is, the common elements or those which would be present equally in all activities and that as we will see, would favor the harmonious development of the psychological functions. Let’s see which would be the advantages in relation to the psychic operation:

1 - Many impulses would have the most favorable field for their normal satisfaction:

The approval imp. would have its natural manifestation, just like it has in sport, where the most habitual thing is the desire of performing an outstanding job that will be recognized with all the signs of affection and approval towards the author. Instead, in the rest of current activities, the impulse moves in front of the most negative conditions making practically impossible its natural satisfaction.

The fraternal imp. would be satisfied in everything that is positive for the diverse groups of joint interest, with which it would try to contribute in every moment. This, upon the basis of the fraternal identification with each group which one belongs to and with each one of the partners (teamwork, companionship, friendship, joint goals).

The recreational imp. in view of the type of the diverse activities, would undoubtedly find new possibilities to accomplish its satisfaction.

The variation imp. would be satisfied in the end of boredom or dullness generated by the monotony of tasks. This monotony would be replaced by the coloring of the new shades of the activity.

The aggression imp. would have less possibilities to be moved towards sadism or destruction, upon the decay of the general level of harsh frustrations. On the contrary, it would be called up with a constructive orientation in the fight with sports spirit, being satisfied together with success in the accomplishment of goals. Aggressiveness with socially feeble orientations like, for example, the one caused by envy towards other people's virtues, would be reduced to its minimum expression. Envy, as unsympathetic feeling, arises out from the own frustration. Witnessing in another subject what one does and it is not own, causes the displeasure of frustration. It is the impact of the compulsory awareness of the own lack. (The feeling of “injustice” differs from this when the other one is conceived as the real and guilty reason of the own uneasiness). But if nobody is seriously frustrated, there would be no reasons so that a pathetic envy appears. Therefore, other people's virtues could be valued and recognized with great goodness. The natural aesthetic pleasure and admiration for virtues would not be thwarted by the own frustration; even less when the positive qualities of a partner for example, besides being reason of pride for the group, are of special importance for the achievement of joint targets.

The recovery imp. would achieve the getting-together with the state of enthusiasm that the conditions and demands of social life take away to most individuals when they reach adultness. On the other hand, the normal levels of steady esteem or acceptance towards the individual as member of the group would be recovered or concerning the normal recognition towards the person, as each one is an important element for the purposes of the group. Also and what is highly important is the natural style of labor that would be recovered to a great extent, whereas the diverse psychological functions would be harmoniously developed during their progress, being again a game, a sport, an art, etc., simultaneously.

The curiosity imp. would develop a constant interest in the news about the many results. Comments and assumptions would cover the atmosphere of activities. Let’s say by the way that that expectation, suspense, uncertainty, “interest”, as components of the state of enthusiasm, typical in all game, are made up with a good portion of the curiosity feeling. (Other important elements are: fear before the probable negative character of the surprise and the desire of the possible positive nature of the uncertain result).

The communication imp. would also be favored. The narrowest joint interests and the affective approach fostered by them, would toughen companionship and friendship, making it easier the fluency of the interpersonal communication.

The mediator imp. would be in charge of the frequent and deep happiness and states of joy, nonexistent in the reality of works and social activities. Joy is a pleasure that advances or reinforces the achievement of another pleasant object or fact. But when that pleasant fact or object is missing, the reactions of happiness and joy advancing and reinforcing it do not appear either.

Lastly, the joy imp. also depends on the existence of pleasant facts that set off desire. In such sense it has the same luck than the mediator imp. But when the real possibility of achieving pleasant facts exists, the sustained desire of its achievement appears. In that situation of continuous proposal of natural joy, there would be no need to appeal to desperate methods (excesses, addictions, deviations) aimed at accomplishing some reason of pleasure.

We have already discussed about the ten impulses that would have a usual and healthy satisfaction. The only important “bare” impulse would be the sexual one. Its natural satisfaction would not be guaranteed either with the material or economic security and fairness or with the proper organization of activities. On this issue, it would be necessary an educational and preventive labor pursuing the objective of assuring that when reaching the biological maturation of sexuality, the same is accompanied by the beginning of a normal and usual sexual activity for which the healthy psyche is adapted. Anyway, we suppose that the own transformation of social life would also have a favorable implication in this regard, although more indirectly and as a product of the consequent cultural change.

2 – The existence of a field of varied joint commitments and of important group aims clear specific objectives, the system of bipulsions would start “spinning” with all its harmony. Under such conditions, the operation of values would become vigorous as well as of those having to do directly with the activity (skillfulness, intelligence, creativity, knowledge, sacrifice spirit, performance capacity, etc.) as of the human relationships values that surround and hint the development of group activities (loyalty, respect, justice, humility, fulfillment of engagements, etc.).

Among bipulsions, those having a more direct and outstanding participation would be the moral fight, group moral and personal performance. The moral fight bip. would constitute the “general setting” for the movement of values. A stream of values would be loaded up which would be “tied” at the victory-defeat. This way for example, the good performance as value, would be “fastened down” from victory. And since the good performance includes many other component values (intelligent, skilled, creative, abnegated task, etc.), the victory itself would imply the joint appearance of all those values. On the other hand, around the possibility of the group victory, a great interest of the group moral bip. would be developed. The group’s victory would mean “good group performance”. Therefore, the diverse positive values of the group behavior would be contained there. When the level of identification with the group one belongs to is considerable, the “honor” of each one of its members lies naturally in the group outcome.

As it may be noticed, the group moral and personal performance bipulsions would operate subordinated to the modus operandi of the moral fight bip. Around the diverse victory-defeat results, either of the group or individual, those would be mobilized with the maximum dynamism and with their important motivational affliction, creeping to the group of minor values that they gather which would come out according to the result of the fight.

On the other hand, the interest in the individual result would not be something standing apart regarding the group purposes. During contents of sports teams for example, each player attempts, firstly, to fulfill the best performance aimed at the group victory. But besides the interest in teaming up with the group purposes, the interest in being the individual scorer of contents or being the best player of the match, etc., work simultaneously and parallel; that is, it is about two parallel and complementary motivations that come together naturally, driving towards the best performance of the group.

Almost all social activities allow the identification and the recognition towards the outstanding subjects (or in this case, winners) in the individual aspect. For that reason, upon the proper combination of the interest in the group victory together with the desire of being the individual winner, a most favorable area would be created so that a diversity of values and motivations work with their maximum brilliance under the frame of the moral fight bip. or sports spirit, where everybody would be main characters and not only spectators or amateurs as it happens with the great majority.

The phenomenon of the sports fervor all around the world, would be the expression of two fundamental necessities. One, being identified with some group, feeling that one belongs to it, that there are joint targets. The other one, the need to fight or moral competition or with characteristics of sports game that is inherent to the human psyche and that the general conditions of life of our times, make its practice almost impossible for most subjects. But the sports fervor (together with other ones) may only satisfy partially those necessities. They can never be fully satisfied when the subject is an spectator forever. Instead, with the new organization of social activities and labor, one could be the main character of exciting competitions, either individual or of the group, where that one has the maximum importance for society at the same time (labor, scientific, educational activities, etc.).

3 - Macropulsion is as we observed, the mechanism by means of which the subject searches for living pleasant global facts and avoids the unpleasant ones. Among the global facts where macropulsion is more interested in, the activities to carry out. Therefore, if the activities apart from being tasks of great social utility, become into true entertainments, they would mean a great proposition for the essential interest of the macropulsion.

4 - That same social field would favor the operation of the apparatuses:

The ethical apparatus would evaluate the qualities of the individuals and groups based on the victory-defeat results of the activities. Those reliable indicators that would have the function of the apparatus, would make its appraisable activity (and estimator -disrespectful) be assembled according to the objective approaches. The utility of this does not lie only in facilitating the activity of the ethical apparatus, but that would organize and guide the activity of the apparatuses of the personal moral and of the group moral. Victory-defeat would constitute a parameter or objective indicator for the evaluation of values. As the participants would have equality of conditions and possibilities, the results would speak volumes about the capacities and qualities of groups and individuals. The victory of one group for example, would be the evidence of virtues such as: good group performance, intelligence in planning strategies and tactics, hard work, ability, etc. Thus, each group or individual would find the existence of clear targets as moral ideals in the concrete triumphs.

The success in those ideals-goals either individual or of the group, is automatically “supplier” of virtues. In the case of sport for example, being the champion or the winner means the automatic acquisition of the collection of virtues making that award. The winner or champion award entails a corresponding pool of positive qualities or virtues. Although a group wins for chance, just at that time, it turns into a skilled, intelligent, capable, etc. group. This is this way because the ethical apparatus brings together the mechanism of recognizing the winner, disregarding that the winner is the best in the level of qualities necessary to win (which is generally this way). The evaluator does not need “to verify” those qualities. The victory already told him what he wanted to know. Now he only recognizes and admires the winner. The proper condition by means of which that “practical” mechanism exists, leads no doubts to favor the interest in victory. For that reason, thanks to the objective order that appreciations would have, the apparatuses of the personal moral and of the group moral would perceive the clearest ideals in the corresponding victories.

The moral ideals keep up the enthusiasm and the motivation in sportsmen. There are always proposals of champion awards that guide the individual or group aspirations. Records are also settled as huge aspirations or ideals-goals. All that, is what for example keeps up the enthusiasm in a seemingly monotonous training session. But what makes it non monotonous, is the repeated image or mental representation of the act of achieving the ideal-goal and the new virtual condition pursued with it. This is continually present in the training session. It is lived each moment, enjoying the ideal in advance.

Regarding the apparatuses of the personal welfare and of the group welfare, those living conditions, where a general enthusiasm for labor and for social activities would take place, would mean the accomplishment of a good portion of what we understand as personal and social welfare. But obviously, these apparatuses would not paralyze their activity, but new ideals of welfare would appear constantly shared by the whole society and always guided towards the uninterrupted improvement of life (apart from the ideals of welfare forming the aspects of the personal or private life).

Lastly, the apparatus of the general integration as synthesis of the other apparatuses, would have the best field to guide its activity towards those renewed goals leading to achieve or to improve happiness. They would have diverse ideals not only accessible or possible of being reached and enjoyed, but they would also keep up constantly a towering enthusiasm for life during the proper labor guided towards their achievement.

As it may be noticed, the objective happiness we are talking about, includes the two moments of the process by means of which the apparatuses deal with the ideals making happiness: 1- passive conformity after achieving the ideal. 2– active and enthusiast unconformity during which one works for its achievement. In other words, it includes the whole time that the reactions of happiness for the success in the achievement of the ideals-goals last plus conformity with the accomplished values; and it also comprises the activity itself of the apparatuses from the setting up of the ideal until its achievement. This way, the two moments of the wheel and the following two successive moments are included, that is to say, it involves the continuous turn of the wheel. From the two moments of the process, the most important for the objective happiness is paradoxically the happiness one feels while fighting and working to achieve happiness. Nevertheless, the achievement of the goal cannot be missing at all, the same as the situation where it is deeply enjoyed.

5 - In the event of attaining a high consideration for the results, these would rouse a great interest resulting in the enthusiasm state. The own uncertainty of a result for which a great interest exists, leads to cause a state of expectation, suspense, desire, etc., as well as frequent reactions of pleasure, resulting from the continuous mental representation of a positive outcome that may show up with certain probability.

Among other activities or situations, the game with fight characteristics (winning-losing), as well as labor guided to the achievement of ideals, are elements significantly encouraging enthusiasm. That would respond to the common factors that both situations contain which would be precisely the reasons of enthusiasm. One of those factors is the desire of a clear target (winning and achieving the ideal respectively). Another one is the fight as common essence; that is to say, there exist opposing obstacles or elements that lean to hinder success or that failure is produced, reason why the maximum motivation is developed to defy the factors against and to obtain success. Lastly, there exists uncertainty of the result; the possibilities of success or failure are present.

The middle difficulty in the achievement of the goal is a basic condition so that said enthusiasm takes place. If a player always wins or on the contrary he always loses, the enthusiasm and the interest in the game disappear. The same happens regarding ideals. The enthusiasm is not present if achieving the ideal is practically impossible; either if everything is easy or if there is not anything to hope, that is to say, here there would not be directly either ideals or enthusiasm in this regard. To sum up, there is not enthusiasm if the goal is very difficult, very easy or if there is no goal. It is only fully produced when the goal is of middle difficulty. This is the balance point that moves the group of psychic reactions that give rise to the continuous emotional enthusiasm.

The enthusiasm generated by labor guided towards the achievement of ideals is more stable and embracing in relation to the one encouraged by a game of immediate resolution. The states of enthusiasm generated by the games of the day would be like satellites rotating around one planet, while enthusiasm for labor towards ideals, would be the planet rotating in the largest orbit. In the case of the example of the sports team, the psychic state of the players facing in a match, is the daily enthusiasm of the moment. But during the rest of the day, the continuous enthusiasm sustained by the hope of obtaining the title of champion of the season or of achieving an important record or the possibility of being the individual scorer of the championship remains alive.

The same relationship would be present in the example of the factory, the same as in all fields of social activities. The enthusiasm for the game-work of immediate resolution would be rotating around the larger orbit of enthusiasm promoted by the largest and most desired goals.

That kind of psychic activity encouraged by the work guided towards ideals plus the “satellites” states of enthusiasm arisen out during the games of more immediate resolution, would pile up between both, the best movement of the psychic life.

5. Advantages of the system in relation to the progress
of the material and cultural productivity

Competition, emulation, etc., as dialectical contradiction “incarnate” in man, is a fundamental element for the progress of productivity in social activities. Because of that concrete benefit, the natural selection allowed the survival to the tribes that possessed such mechanisms of moral competition.

The application of that “circle of circles” of productive moral competitions in society, would mean the continuous movement of a system of contradictions under the natural sports spirit. At first sight, such system tells us about the global progress of the performance in labor and cultural activities that could take place with its application.

As the psyche is adapted for the fight aimed at the achievement of the most diverse goals, it is during that fight and the most vital enthusiasm when the maximum motivation takes place. During the fight aimed at attaining goals especially of middle difficulty, the maximum energy of motivation and the bloom of the man's creative forces are generated. Therefore, those regulated sports fights where owing to the own features of the sports contents, the goals would be naturally of middle difficulty, they would constitute the most appropriate field for the best development of the human potentialities of performance.

It is known that sportsmen set out the maximum energy than any human being. However, their remarkable efforts take place in the frame of a great enthusiasm. This is this way, because the objective conditions of sport (fight, middle difficulty of the goal, uncertainty of outcome) are the most favorable not only for the maximum setting out of energy, but parallel for the best psychic state as well.

As we know, in general terms, nature only allows the good state of spirit in what is useful for survival. Then, as the setting out of the maximum energy of the tribe’s members was perhaps the most useful out of everything, such thing had to be accompanied by the most favorable states of mood. In other terms, the surviving tribes were those ones whose members felt a larger enthusiasm during fight and the effort of work aimed at the accomplishment of material goods (that are the same with which one gets the moral goods: good performance, to be better, etc. and spiritual: benefit for the tribe).

To sum up, if the elements and technical details of that system of productive moral competitions are properly organized, an important increase of motivation would be assured.

The contradictions or fights at all levels of the social activity would then favor, the maximum motivation or the maximum setting out of human energy. However, such an increase of the energy of motivation would not be the only source of productive progress promoted by the system. The increase of motivation from a current average level until the maximum level, would imply a progress at the productive level but only the first time, since once motivation has been steady in the “maximum plateau”, a new progress is not possible, because of an impossible increase of motivation. For that reason, once the maximum of motivational energy has been attained and the corresponding increase of productivity has been produced, from there onwards, motivation becomes a constant factor. All new progress starts depending on the best use of the same energy of motivation, that is to say on the application of the best techniques or methods. The further progress will only depend on the progress of techniques or methods allowing the each-time better use of that same effort, concentration, creative will, etc. that is now a constant factor.*

* When talking about better techniques or methods, it should be understood everything meaning what is most advanced at certain moment, without distinguishing the field of their application. It is is about all that is new and efficient in each branch of the activity and that in one way or another contributes to the progress and development of society.

That first increase of productivity determined by the increase of motivation, would not only be an authentic progress, but also a “gross” increase, as a kind of basic advantage. The true progress would be the further one, the experience by the application of new techniques which would start developing itself in the frame of the productive contradictions or competitions. Such fights would constitute the great engine working at full speed, making the interest in making up and/or applying the best techniques or methods move intensively, aimed at the individual, group or regional victory.

That relationship between the quantum of motivation and the progress of techniques is clearly perceived in the case of sports. The victory on sports always requires the maximum effort. But as generally speaking, sportsmen put always into operation their highest effort, the outcome starts depending on the new and better sports techniques (training systems, strategies and tactics of game, perfection of footwear, etc.) and not on motivation now. However, there could not be interest in inventing, developing and/or applying the best techniques without the basis of the maximum motivation, arisen out from the movement of contradiction or sports competition.

6. The universal law of progress

Firstly, two opposed forces have to exist, so that progress of something takes place. One is the creative force and the other one the destructive force of what was created. Let’s consider the biological evolution as example. When one species is very reproduced, we are in presence of the creative or asserting force. On the other hand, the adversity of nature constitutes the destructive or denier force that tends to eradicate those new individuals. However it does not eradicate all, but only the worst, while the best trained, thanks to their appropriate aptitudes, defy the denier force and are able to survive. The best, unique survivors establish the new starting point from where the following reproduction or similar individuals' generalization will be originated; that is to say, the creative force has now a higher starting point. The new descendants will be in their entirety, of better adaptation quality than in the former reproduction. But once again, the renewed destructive or denier force of nature tends to eradicate these individuals; but it will only eradicate the worst. Those that were born with some advantages will be able to defy adversity, surviving and reproducing their gender. Again, out of the multiple children, some will inherit features superior than the own parents, others will have inferior quality features and most will be of a similar level than the starting point. Thus, the destructive force will eradicate everybody as time passes by, except the most qualified ones who will mark the new and highest starting point and so on.

Schematically:

1- initial point of departure. 2- creative or asserting force. 3- result of the varied and of the chance reproduction encouraged by the creative or asserting force. 4- destructive or denier force that eliminates what is bad and medium. 5- new point of departure from what survives.

If we imagine ourselves withdrawing the denier force, the progress in the unilateral guidance of the gradual change would disappear. In such case, the process would tend to be horizontal, the same level of the initial starting point being practically reproduced. On the other hand, upon the existence of a denier force, what is bad starts being eliminated, rising the level of what is in force, step by step.

Those mechanisms of the law of progress are not exclusive of the biological evolution, but they are universal laws of all evolution. The biological evolution is just a specific case of the law. The same one is present for example in the progress of ideas. Here, criticism is the destructive or denier force. From the starting point of the level of knowledge that a subject has, the variety of new occurrences will rouse (creative force). Each one of those new ideas will have to face the force of harsh criticism (or self-criticism) that tends to eliminate or discard them. This way, criticism will wreck large quantities of “daughters” hypothesis. But the ideas having the largest logical authority will endure the sudden attack of criticism and will survive; that is to say, the only surviving ideas will be the best. These ones will set up once again the harshness of criticism which will collide frontally against each one of the “daughters” occurrences, destroying everything lacking a certain logical level, surviving the most resistant and the mechanism of progress being continually repeated. Instead, if somebody refuses to accept criticism and/or self-criticism, he does not foster the elimination of the own bad ideas from the logical point of view, he will continue with the same starting point and with a “horizontal” reproduction of the same level, without undergoing the mechanism of progress.

Science and religion are the best opposed models of what we are discussing. Science permanently releases new ideas abundantly followed by the harsh denier force of criticism (based mainly on the proofs of practical verification) that eliminates all what is bad, leaving it “alive” that protects itself for its logical force. What survives sets up the new and highest starting point for the infinity of new hypothesis, out of which only the best will survive and so on. Religion in general is the opposite. Its contents are not criticized or discussed. That makes the same level of contents be reproduced horizontally during centuries, without experiencing that mechanism.

One last example of the law of progress is precisely the one in which we are now interested in: the progress of techniques. The essential mechanism is the same one than in the previous examples. Out of the variety of techniques existing at certain time, the most effective ones only survive and the remaining ones are eliminated. Then, from the starting point of the surviving techniques, the new reproduction arises. At any society, during the reproduction or generalization of an effective technique, some people make some changes. These will favor somebody and will harm others. Again, the denier force will eradicate all bad and middle techniques as time passes by, surviving the best ones, which will establish the new and highest starting point for the following reproduction or generalization and so on.

The denier force in this case lies in the own mechanism of choosing necessarily what is best and rejecting what is worst. It consists on what is excluding of what it will remain. There is room for some techniques: the best ones. It is as if techniques fought to occupy that excluding space. Each “aspiring” technique plays the denier force for the rest. The own limitation of the space is the adverse factor for each applicant to occupy it. The best technique is the only one that survives and the rest is eradicated.*

* These processes of unity and fight between two general contrary forces , as the creative and denier forces of creation, constitute the basic mechanism of what shows up as law of denial of the denial. That is to say, the whole process is developed as an upward spiral movement or as an ascending zigzag, by means of which what is new denies what is old and at the same time what is newest and better denies again or displaces what was new and good before but that it turned into bad and so on. On the other hand, the operation of the law of the quantitative and qualitative changes occurs in this same frame. The process of gradual change or unilateral transformation of what starts progressing, it experiences qualitative jumps in the road: new organs and functions in the biological evolution; discoveries in the case of science; inventions in the evolution of techniques.

7. Factors that depend on the acceleration or slowing down of progress

What is accelerated or slowed down in progress, depends on the intensity of the fight between the asserting and denier forces. That means that progress will be faster while the asserting or creative force is more abundant in its production and the destructive or denier force has, at the same time, the maximum sternness, standing only the best of creation.* The condition of the maximum speed of that process is added to this; that is to say that the reproduction by the asserting force is not only abundant but also immediate and that the destructive force, besides having the maximum sternness, acts quickly in its eradicating task. Let’s see the following two graphics. In the first one, there is little abundance of the creative force, little sternness of the destructive one and slowness in the process. In the second case we can observe a great abundance of the creative force, the maximum sternness of the denier force and speed in the process. In both cases the progress is expressed in the height reached in the unity of horizontal advance (time):

* That harshness of the denier force must never reach the point of eliminating everything; that is to say, something of creation must remain. Otherwise it is obvious that the process is automatically interrupted.

8. Conditions for the acceleration of progress in the performance
of work and social activities

Based on what we have stated, three general factors out of which the acceleration of progress depends on the material and cultural productivity, call for mention:

1- Abundance of creative force. This is, the permanent invention of miscellaneous techniques, methods, tactics, and strategies, aimed at improving the productive and cultural performance. It is evident that new efficient techniques will arise more frequently out of the multiplicity of tests.

2- Existence of an agile approach allowing the quick and sure identification of the best techniques or methods.

3- Speed of the most advantageous or techniques identified as the best and selected accordingly, as they are generalized or reproduced in the whole society, displacing the less effective ones.

These elements are not more than the adaptation of the usual steps or stages of the mechanism of progress. For that reason, the acceleration of this progress only depends on the breadth and speed of such steps.

In order that breadth and speed take place, it is essential the premise of another more basic or primary contradiction, as driving force putting the maximum interest in inventing in motion, selecting and applying what is effective. Such a basic or driving contradiction would consist then, in the development of the manifold and balanced fights or moral competitions in the framework of social activities and labor. The proper existence of an objective situation of contradiction or fight between groups and individuals around victory, would mean the stimulating condition for the development of the maximum interest in invention, renewal and selection of techniques to be applied.

Breadth and speed of those phases of progress (1- great production of the creative force 2 - sternness of the denier force eradicating all what is bad and medium leaving only what is the best 3- speed in the reproduction or generalization of that good thing that survives and in the elimination of the rest) would be present with the application of the system of contradictions that we are talking about:

1 – Upon the existence of an interest in winning individual, group or regional competitions, in all the aspects of the social activity, there would constantly be a desire to create or to devise new techniques or methods leading to victory. That motivation would multiply the creative forces at all levels.

2 - The lively approach for the quick and sure identification of the best techniques or methods arisen and the elimination of the worst would be the victory. The repeated victory of an individual, group or region would be the evidence of the supremacy of techniques, methods, plans, strategies that allowed their best material or cultural production and their victory with it.*

* Victory, as practical and safe result-guide, indicator of what is effective or not, would mean a surpassing replacement in all senses, of the economic profit, as element fulfilling that function in capitalism.

3 - The interest in the result would mobilize the quickest generalization or reproduction of the best techniques and the immediate elimination of the less effective ones. Nobody would keep on applying the old methods when that is synonymous of failure.

9. The example of Greece

Based on what we are discussing, we can deduce that the surprising progress and cultural bloom of the old Greece would have taken place to a great extent, by the spontaneous application of these laws. There, a sports or agonistic spirit existed shown up in the cultural activities. The fight at the moral field went beyond the sphere of sport itself, becoming extensive to the framework of diverse activities.* As far as we know, important contents in the diverse arts were carried out for example and even mathematical contents of great public interest. In an atmosphere like this, where activities contain a spirit of sports game or of expressed moral fight together with the high esteem and interest in victory, progress would be something necessary to happen. Although the organization of activities was not very tidy from the technical point of view, those conditions always mean a great incentive for creativity and progress in general.

* Diem Carl. Historia de los deportes. Luis De Caralt Editor. Barcelona 1966. Pag. 126-127 (History of sports)

The natural experiment of Greece would also be a proof of advantages and positive results that could have that nature of labor and social activities. Undoubtedly in the Greek case, all that progress and bloom were limited to the cultural production and thanks to the support of the productive labor of slaves, excluded from any benefit.

10. The unity of fight and cooperation

In order to observe the adaptation of labor motivations to the natural psychological operation during activity, we will analyze at the same time, a primitive tribe and a factory in which the new nature of the activity takes place. The tribe as well as the factory are in full labor activity; the tribe is separated in sub-groups and the factory specially organized in several sections or yards undertaking a similar job. Stressing our attention at the same time on an individual of the tribe and on a worker of some of these sections, where both develop a great interest in the best labor performance. Let’s see some motivational elements composing that interest in the best performance:

1- The desire to stand out individually. That will lead to the recognition towards the subject by his partners of the sub-group of the tribe or of his partners of the section of the factory. Also, the individual highlighted performance may turn the subject into the eventual figure of the tribe or of the whole factory (production record, etc.).

2- The good personal performance is also moved by the interest in collaborating with the sub-group of the tribe or with the section of the factory, to achieve the victory in the emulation against the remaining sub-groups or sections.

3 – Parallel with this, the interest in teaming up with the tribe as a whole or with the whole factory is present, trying to get the success of the tribe against the adversity of nature or of the success of the factory in the competition against its similar ones in the region.

Therefore, we find simultaneously: a fight against the rest of subjects trying to be the best individually; a fight among the own sub-group members against the rest of its similar ones for the best sub-group performance and lastly a fight between the tribe against adversity or between the factory against the rest of similar establishments.

But at the same time that one is fighting, one is cooperating with the partners of the sub-group or section with the purpose of accomplishing the group victory as joint target. Also, the own sub-group is cooperating with the contender sub-groups in relation to the purposes of the tribe or factory in their entirety.

Since the fight and cooperation are relative to the considered effect, one cooperates simultaneously with the own contenders. One sub-group fights against the others in relation to the victory or defeat effect among them. But at the same time, the same energies that each sub-group knocks over its respective task to defy the others, are the ones added and converged in favor of the global product of the tribe or factory. Thus, in relation to the effect of increasing the global production of the factory to defy the others, the sections are cooperating while they fight to each other and the cooperation will be higher to that purpose while the fight for the internal victory is more intense. The same happens regarding the tribe. The sub-groups faced in an emulative way, cooperate more with the achievement of the maximum global product for the tribe while the moral fight is more intense in order to be the most successful or productive sub-group.

Such an objective simultaneity of the fight and cooperation phenomena has its connection at the level of the motivational structure and of the subjective reactions. Regarding fight, the force of the moral interest is present and the spiritual motivation is present concerning cooperation. But as one is fighting and cooperating simultaneously with the own partners, the moral and spiritual tendencies act at the same time: winning or being better and benefit for the group respectively.

The adaptation of the psyche to the dialectics of fight and cooperation united in the same fact, is the adaptation of human motivation to the objective laws of reality, to the need of inner contradictions, without that it is excluded concerning cooperation and collaboration, but a complementary reinforcement for the maximum group efficiency.

11. Laws of dialectics, labor and psyche

During the evolution of the species and in the frame of the objective fight for the tribe survival, labor started being developed in its form, being adjusted every time with more accuracy to the objective conditions or demands of the laws of dialectics, especially to the law of the inner contradiction or unity and fight among opposed factions, in a way to allow the maximum possible productivity. That is to say, the surviving tribes were those ones which adjusted perfectly to the conditions or demands of such laws. Upon the selection of tribes that were the most effective in the achievement of the means of subsistence thanks to that way of working, obviously, the psyches selected were those whose essential structure were better adapted for that efficient form of labor (sports spirit or emulation, enthusiasm for that working form, etc.). Thus, we are able to mention the following relationship: the labor style of the tribe was adjusted to the demands of the laws of dialectics for the maximum productivity. The psyche on the other hand, was formed being adjusted to that labor style. For transitive character, the psyche was structured adapting itself to those dialectical mechanisms.

But for certain circumstances, inherent to the historical development of society, the labor style drifted from that adaptation to the demands of dialectical laws. Therefore, the psyche adjusts itself as it can to that labor, drifting together with it. That deviation of the labor style and psychic operation mood regarding those conditions of the dialectical laws has nowadays two negative effects: 1- little progress of the quality of the labor and cultural performance (in relation to what is possible). 2- unconformity with the labor style and absence of any enthusiasm.

The laws of dialectics cannot be modified; they correspond to the "logical frame" of reality. Then, the essential structure of the psyche and its system of necessary functions, at least for the time being, is not amendable. The only thing left for transforming is labor and its organization, that is to say, to adapt it again to the objective demands of the dialectical laws and to the functional necessities of the psyche. Adapting labor to those dialectical conditions implies adapting it to the psyche. Or also, adapting labor to the functional requirements of the psyche means its adjustment to the demands of the laws of dialectics for the best productivity. Such adaptation in the way of labor organization and of all social activities would have two positive effects: 1- progress of the material and cultural productivity. 2- enthusiasm for the activity, bloom of the creative forces, mental health and improvement of social life in general.

12. About the application of the system

The concrete form of the organization of activities is something that would lie in the research of the social sciences and in the practical experiences in this regard, as well as ultimately in the creativity of workers themselves and of participants in the diverse activities. But, firstly, we find that the quantity of possible combinations about the different competitions or individual and group contents are countless.*

* A kind of content that could take place in parallel form to that of examples stated would consist on the division of factions in each field of social activities. This considering not only the existence of local feelings but it also takes place the identification with groupings whose members, in spite of being physical or territorially separated, are united in what is spiritual and moral by joint interests, causes or aspirations.

It is also beyond belief the quantity of existing manners to use modern technologies. The advancements attained in computing and communications would be useful for the immediate registration and transmission of the multiple partial and total results in all the fields of social activities.

In relation to the application of the system, we have observed many advantages and no disadvantage. However, one can not hope that it is easy to put it into work. During intents, hindrances and difficulties of diverse nature would appear no doubts. An important hindrance perhaps exists in our own relative values and customs. The diverse values, interests, likes, habits, deep-seated in our affections, bring about an “inertia” relatively defined in its course, that contributes to the appearance of those images like strange to us or lacking of great attractiveness.

The subject matter of the guidance of values is perhaps the one requiring the most sensitive treatment. If there is not a positive appreciation for the new feature of the activity, it can be interest, enthusiasm or progress. Such appreciation makes any activity interesting. There cannot be interest or enthusiasm in a game for example, in which winning or losing is the same. Appreciations make them not be the same.

There are several elements that may contribute to develop that appreciation. As the difficult task is to create an appreciation that does not exist, those elements should be combined and applied simultaneously. A basic advantage we find is that nobody would have to do anything new. Everything would be based on the same activities undertaken by each one and that have to be fulfilled anyway. It is also present the advantage of the mechanism by means of which certain spontaneous appreciation for the environment of the social activity that each one carries out is developed in general. Lastly, we can mention the fact that everybody hopes the opportunity to see that his capacities and efforts are recognized. But in order to accomplish it, it is essential the creation of an appropriate social field that allows recovering the frame and the natural conditions favoring it.

One of the elements generating recognitions would be material prizes. The same would rally the interest in winning from the very beginning. Then, the moral burden tied up to victory-defeat would start growing proportionally with the development of competitions. That would start diminishing the material prize, until a moral autonomy of the interest in relation to results is got, similar to what happens in sports, where motivation, as one knows, reaches easily its “maximum plateau” although there is not any other interest than the moral one.

Another element would be the right organization of the technical details of the activity. In order to be recognized, the activity must have some interesting elements (possibilities to achieve large goals, appropriate proportion of the influence of chance in the results, absence of monotony, frequency in the submission of partial and total results, possibilities to create strategies, etc.). When the nature of the activity is varied and amusing, is appreciated by itself.

A last element would be the educational task that tends directly to favor appreciation, considering the social importance that the application of the system could have.

The new nature of activities surely “would take roots” and perhaps with great force, in children, teenagers and youths. It would be more difficult perhaps for adults, considering the largest consolidation of relative values, likes and living habits in general that make appear what is opposed with the own customs, as absurd, ridiculous, or stupid. Nevertheless the assimilation of the system by adults would also be possible and immediate since it would not be necessary a very large change in the living style. Of course in no case, participation would be compulsory; but it may be accepted as entertainment, bearing in mind that winning or losing is not the most important thing. However, we know what happens when for example, a group of middle-aged friends decides to practice some game or sports for a while. Everybody knows that the “idea” is to have a good time. None will feel a great shame if he loses. Any outcome is the same for all. But all that, is forgotten when the development of the game directs affections. At that moment, commotion of the psychic movement takes place and nothing interests more than the result.

Anyway, no doubts the influence of relative values or likes and customs are powerful when they have been consolidated in a certain orientation. But that fact does not imply obviously, that they are unalterable elements which the new generations should be necessarily adjusted to, but they are transformable in their entirety.

Although the nature of moral fight or competition that labor would have, has been stressed, that does not mean that the same would be reduced only to be a game or sport. What we have stated is only the general outline of the activities organization where the nature of the ruled fight is an essential element of this organization; it is the “skeleton” of the system. But apart from being a game and a sport, labor would also be among other things, an art and a science. An art because the quality of the job, the beauty and perfection of the work would be evaluated; that is to say, people producing more in quantitative terms would not be the only winners but victory, according to the conditions and possibilities offered by each activity, would also be for the individual or group whose work, job or product have better quality, more beauty, more harmony and perfection.* On the other hand, it would also be a science, in the sense that the interest in victory would stimulate the development of ideas, some research and new knowledge aimed at improving productivity and the quality of performance in each one of the labor and cultural activities.

* In the case of jobs generating consumption goods, consumers themselves could be the "judges" in charge of evaluating quality, either qualifying the products expressly or in the facts, by simply choosing the best ones.

On the other hand, the fact that contents or moral fights are developed in working, scientific, educational activities, etc., does not imply, as it appears to be, that one would live “blinded” for an obsessive interest in winning and without caring the “result” of the job. On the contrary, the winners would be those developing the maximum interest and the largest commitment in the task. We do not have to consider victory-defeat as separate items from the other values, but triumph would be attained precisely in the quantum of the other values. If a teacher for example is reluctant to all proposals, asserting that it is not about winning, but of educating with responsibility and thinking of the training of students, one has to agree with him. Only that victory in this case, would correspond to whom teaches with more responsibility and to whom is more concerned about the training of his students. The best educator would win, the one attaining more pedagogic objectives. In other words and paradoxically, the person winning would be the one thinking less of winning and more in educating (the educator's victory would be the expression of his students’ victory; it would arise out from the largest level where these ones reach the different educational objectives).

The same situation shows up in all activities. One would always triumph in the quantum of what is most valued. If the activity is science for example, those only thinking of “winning” will not be imposed over the others, disregarding the contents of their researches. The winners will be those thinking more of such contents, trying to carry out a good scientific work.

The interest in victory would only be an added motivational force that would push to carry out the work in the best possible way. But at the conscious realm, in the “mind”, the contents, objectives, difficulties, characteristic of the activity would fundamentally exist. The desire to win would not disturb at all the responsibility of doing a well-done job useful for the social benefit, but the interest in doing it each time better, would be multiplied. Anyway it is clear that there is nothing wrong in experiencing labor as a game or entertainment, moreover when that becomes the most efficient task.

Let’s say lastly, that the proposed system may fairly appear to be not as a “great thing”, is not the conclusion or the unique and necessary application of all what we have discussed above on the psyche. It is only something arisen out as a deduction or derivation, not at all assumed at the beginning of the theoretical development that, according to the different points of view, could be good to improve the psychic operation. But undoubtedly, human life and mainly in our times, is more than that. There are diverse aspects of life that have little to do with the way in that activities are organized.

However, we do not have either “to exaggerate” regarding the possibilities of the psychological life. In fact, the human psyche in its essence is not either a “great thing”. The brain that is the organ whose activity sustains the whole psychological life, does not have too much to hope, besides the stimulation of a group of its cells and the inhibition of another. What else may an organ look for? For that reason, if we find a way to make that organ work healthily, as well as the psyche that is the product of its activity, it is necessary then to wonder: what else can we look for?

13. Mental health

Regarding the causes of mental illness, it becomes valid the analogy with what happens in relation to heart disorders. Although the different forms of heart disorders are varied and complex, the general cause, excepting the few cases in that there exists a genetic anomaly, is always the same: the unnatural heart operation or the different ways of operation for the one that is adapted to. All the well-known factors as causing heart disorders (obesity, smoking, sedentariness, stress, etc.) contribute in a different way so that heart does not work in the natural way in which it has to.

Something similar happens in the psyche. In spite of the variety and complexity of the different types of mental disorders, the general or common cause, excepting the few cases of innate abnormality or of noxious physiologic agents that alter the brain’s functions, can not be another one than the unnatural way of the psychic operation, brought about by the unfavorable general conditions of the social life that block the natural and harmonic development of the essential functions of the psyche.

If we limit ourselves to the individual and private therapy, little may be achieved at level of mental health, besides easing temporarily the urgency of the case. Nevertheless, we have to admit that it is possible to achieve favorable results in this respect.*

* The individual therapy, beyond the cases in that a true change of the behavior and of the subject's attitudes would be achieved, mostly is “good” because some unsatisfied necessities of the person would be satisfied within the framework of it. Fundamentally they would be the communication and approval impulses. During the psychotherapy sessions, the patient is able on many occasions to put out private contents he had never had opportunity to tell, and that he took as a bothersome burden. Then, trust, the words and the psychotherapist's other expressions, often make the patient stop feeling blame, shame, humiliation and begin accepting himself, resulting in the achievement of a certain self-esteem not present before.

Anyway, psychotherapy can not be always more than a method of “emergency”. It is necessary the prevention of mental disorders. The psychological therapy is always directed to contend with an effect (although it is about a specific and isolated problem or an inadequate and feeble structure of the subject's global personality). But we know that in order to put out an effect, the causes generating it have to be disarticulated. If the effect is “started up”, keeping causes intact, it is evident that this effect will be regularly reproduced. The general cause of mental disorders does not obviously lie in massive intrinsic curses or in the sick persons' whims. It only lies in the negative conditions of social life that force to an unnatural operation of the psyche. No matter how much the casual circumstances make an individual acquire a mental illness and another one not acquire it, considered as constant the general conditions of society, there will appear a regular and necessary percentage of mentally disordered people in each generation. If one asserts that the mentally ill are those having predisposition for it, such a predisposition does not help us for the explanatory purposes of the etiology of the mental illness. It is only equivalent to imagine a living room full with people with all the entrances of air tightly closed. When oxygen starts running short, not all of them will be suffocated simultaneously but some of them will be the first ones. But this has nothing to do with a “predisposition to asphyxia”. Perhaps the first damaged may be aided with artificial respiration or with other methods of urgency. But if windows are opened up, it will not be necessary to talk about predispositions.

The problem is better perceived, focusing it from its more general essence, this is, conceiving it as a concrete fight between two forces tending to contrary and excluding results. Let’s suppose that a normal subject has a resistance to illness of magnitude 100. On the other hand, the set of factors making up the unfavorable social means, as active force working against each individual leading to cause him mental illness, would end up in having in our times for example, a power of magnitude 90. This implies that it is still superior the normal subject's resistance, reason why the harmful influence of the adverse social means is not enough to defy that resistance in order to unchain the mental illness as effect. Instead, the person who, because of casual or of any type circumstances has had an awkward psychological development and to whom we consider an individual prone to the mental pathology, he would have a resistance of 80 for example. Here the active force of the tough influence of the environment in relation to the resistance to the illness by the subject is superior, being the mental disorder produced as effect or as a result of the fight. But if we change that social environment, in such a way that it is no longer tough for the psychic operation, that means that we would reduce to zero its power 90 as active force tending to overturn the psyche. In such a case, the one having predisposition (resistance 80) as well as the normal subject or without that predisposition (resistance 100), would be far in a different way of the mental disorder risk, since with a resistance 1 would be enough for the illness not to be developed.

The definitive solution of mental disorders in one way or another, is only possible with the transformation of social life. Among the negative phenomena, generated by the conditions of the social environment playing a role in the lone unhappiness in the best cases and in the mental illness in the worst, we can mention the following examples: communication problems, non-recognition to the person, dissatisfaction in personal aspirations, absence of joint targets, worsening of values, loneliness, dissatisfaction with labor, anxiety, depression, absence of reasons for being happy, affective needs. All that and other negative phenomena would decrease wisely with the same fact of the appropriate organization of social activities and labor (being understood the idea of security and material tranquility). In the tribe nothing of that existed. There, the psyche worked harmoniously. But deviation of labor concerning its natural form is as the breakage of the main engagement that messes up the movement of the whole chain of psychic functions. For that reason, the adaptation of manners of social activities would perhaps solve all that together. This is not magic, but it is similar to it, since the right placement of the main engagement and its setting in operation, would crawl with it, the group of smaller elements and engagements that depend on it, that were developed and structured around it. Labor in its natural form, was the helm that guided the development of the essential psychological functions during the long evolution of the species. Accordingly, everything would start working with magnificently if social activities and labor recover their style or lost spirit, if we can achieve that they are lived again as a game, a sport, an entertainment, an art, a science, an adventure at the same time.

Even the organic or corporal illness itself is usually another of the negative effects of the inadequate way of social activities. As the plentiful pleasure of enthusiasm that they naturally generate is not present, the same is replaced by smoking, greed, alcoholism and drugs addiction, corrupting the physiologic health.

The general situation is as if we supposes that the central stick of the tent of society has fallen down. This way, the wrinkled tent covers all up and does not allow us moving comfortably. All of us lift our arm pushing the tent up, but this falls down again when releasing it. Instead, if we situate the central stick correctly, the social tent would recover magically its full extension in all the psychosocial aspects. The thousands pleats and wrinkles of each sector and of each corner of society would recover their full extension simultaneously. That general transformation of the nature of labor and of the diverse social activities would not be more than getting up and placing the great stick in the correct place; it would imply to put the main engagement in movement; it would mean to open all the windows so that the beautiful spring breeze of the new human society flows.

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© Author: Alberto E. Fresina
Title: "The Laws of Psyche"
Title of the original Spanish Version:
"Las Leyes del Psiquismo"
Fundar Editorial
Printed in Mendoza, Argentina
I.S.B.N. 987-97020-9-3
Mendoza, 14th July, 1999
Copyright registered at the National Copyright Bureau in 1988, and at the Argentine Book Camera in 1999, year of its publication.
Translated by Ana El kassir with the collaboration of Marcela Berenguer
Characteristic of the original copy in Spanish: Number of pages: 426; measures: 5.9 x 8.27 x 1 inch; weight: 1.2lb.

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